CEP 818: What's the Big Idea? Module 5

What’s the Big Idea? Module 5
"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." - Confucius

Teaching "hands-on" classes makes me a huge advocate of embodied thinking. On a daily basis, I watch my students grasp concepts through "doing" and exploring. I am currently at a conference in Lansing, Michigan where Jean Blaydes Madigan (Action Based Learning, "Teaching the Teen Brain") presented, "...85% of school age children prefer kinesthetic processing/learning (over visual and auditory learning.) This type of learning involves gestures, movements, and motions to reinforce concepts and ideas. For example, today we learned about the teen brain and to model brain cells, Jean had us hold up our hands and pretend our palms were nuclei, our fingers were dendrites and our arms represented axons. By involving our bodies in this simple task, it made it easier to understand these complex microscopic cells. Something as simple as using our bodies to model things can be very effective for learning.

In my Independent Living course, we rarely take many tests. Instead, we complete projects where the students apply the knowledge they've learned to real life activities. Recently, my students learned about organization and time management. Instead of testing them on the steps to organize your life, they enacted them. Their assignment was to go home and choose a small space of their own that is disorganized. Next, they were to follow the steps of organizing (from Julie Morganstern: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulb8IM_3K_Q) and document their progress. They took a "before" and "after" picture of their space along with written documentation of the steps and their actions. When the students brought the projects into class, they shared that they really like the project. Many said that they were sort of annoyed with it at first because it seemed like such a pain, but in the end they learned a lot. Hands on experience like this is crucial for learning. I could talk about organizing until I'm blue in the face, but in the end the most authentic learning comes from doing.

From my personal experience, I learn best from doing as well. Many of my sewing students ask me, "Ms. M, when/how did you learn to sew?" I always joke with them, "I learned in high school but I didn't have a teacher. I learned by messing a lot of projects up." And that's true. Some would say it was a very painful way to learn. Looking back though, I think it was an amazingly effective way for me to learn because I'm such a hands-on person. When I made a mistake and discovered my error, I was so curious to solve the problem and find a solution that it made me so passionate about sewing. In addition, I was sure to never make the same mistake twice once I figured out the solution.

Because of my own personal experiences and the ones I witness with my students, I try to always incorporate some form of embodied thinking in each lesson I do. While this isn't always easy, it makes such a difference. One thing I learned about today at my conference was "Learning Readiness Physical Education." A recent study showed that when students partake in a physical education class before their most difficult subject, they tend to learn more. A Texas Youth Fitness Study at Cooper Institute showed that, "Significant associations were constantly found between physical fitness and various indicators of academic achievement." Although I cannot involve my students in a full fledged physical education course at the beginning of each class, I can do small things that can make a big difference according to my findings today. Something as simple as having students stand and stretch, model concepts with their arms and legs, walk around the room, etc. can make a major difference in the amount of information they retain. According to Jean, "Students learn 10% better when they are standing as opposed to sitting simply because of the more efficient blood flow to the brain." One goal I plan to try to enact is to make sure that every class gets out of their seats and moves around every day - even if it's a total time out from the content we are learning. To set aside time for this (2-3 minutes even) makes so much sense because of the benefits. It assists students with focus and concentration and allows for a little fun too - what a concept eh? Fun in the classroom?!

Empathizing - "You must enter into the person you are describing, into his very skin, and see the world through his eyes and feel it through his senses" (182.)

When I think of empathizing, the very first idea that comes to mind is a video I show my students when we are learning about goal setting and persistence...


At first, the students don't know what to think. Many of them are skeptical and make comments that they "feel bad for the animal." As they watch the men mimicking the animal and ultimately following it for hours on end, they begin to realize the significance. I always stop the video at various points and ask them to put themselves in the hunter's shoes. I ask them, "What did you do this morning at 6 AM?" Many of them respond that they woke up, got dressed, showered, etc. I ask them to fast forward 6 hours later and to think of all the events that transpire in that time. When they think of all the things they do in that time and then compare it with the amount of time that the men chase the animal (approximately 6 hours) they truly begin to understand the meaning of empathy. When the animal is killed in the end, many of them don't show as much empathy for the animal as they do for the man. A shift of perception through empathy occurs when they put themselves in the man's shoes and therefore their reactions towards the hunter and the victim are very different by the end of the video.

These two thinking skills, embodied thinking and empathy, are my personal favorite to teach because the light bulb moments that occur within my students don't occur overnight, but when they do they are usually very profound. I have had students tell me that certain activities involving these skills have changed their lives in many ways. The most recent was from a video I showed called "The Truth." I received this from a friend on Facebook and felt the need to share it because of the way it causes a person to empathize with various successful individuals and then "get real" with themselves...